UNDER THE BRIDGE

In cooperation with Breaking Up Walls and a number of other non-profit and for-profit organizations, we gathered donations from August through December and assembled care packages for homeless teens and tweens who live under a bridge in a barrio in South Phoenix. The care packages were assembled within pillowcases artfully decorated by our children. In addition to toiletries, snacks, clothes, and comfort items, the care packages included sleeping mats sewn from donated jeans. A few very talented moms and a grandma in our group sewed some and the children decorated them with paint handprints. From gift cards donated from local stores, a bake sale fundraiser at AZ on the Rocks (where Scottsdale's Mayor Manross stopped by), and generous donations in honor of Liam's second birthday, we raised almost $500 - enough to complete 25 care packages! On December 4th, our group went on a "Scavenger Hunt Shopping Spree" to buy the items for the care packages. What a surprise it was for the cashier to ring up three overflowing carts worth over $400 dollars! Luckily, we had 13 R&S youth members to help pack up the purchases in IKEA reusable blue bags from an IKEA grant. Over several days we helped assemble the care package items we and others had collected. In all, Breaking Up Walls assembled 329 pillowcase care packages for homeless youth - what an accomplishment! We look forward to collaborating with Breaking Up Walls on future projects to care for the homeless. To see more photos of the Under the Bridge project, click here.)